ButterYum's Vanilla Nut Bars

Ina Garten is one of my favorite TV Personalities - I just love her food, her style, and her on-camera personality. You know how you can kinda tell how you're going to get along with a person before you really get to know them? Well, I'm convinced she and I would get along wonderfully.

Anyway, I love how Ina encourages her viewers to master a really good recipe or technique, and then change it up a bit to make different variations. That's exactly what I did with her Pecan Squares - I used her fabulous recipe as a starting point, tweaked it here and there, and ended up with these delicious nibbles that I call Vanilla Nut Bars. I think Ina would approve :).

The changes were simple - I omitted the lemon and orange zest from the original recipe, I replaced half of the pecans with almonds, I added lots of vanilla extract, and I replaced the honey with Lyle's Golden Syrup.  I also cut the recipe in half so my family isn't tempted to eat an entire sheet pan full of these delicious treats. Double the recipe if you want to feed a crowd!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• commercial 9x13 pan https://amzn.to/3Uj4bGL

• Lyle’s golden syrup https://amzn.to/3WEsH7p

• nonstick foil https://amzn.to/3sVHr3Q

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3h8fJy5 (use the good stuff!)

• BeaterBlade attachment https://amzn.to/2HXr41r

• almonds https://amzn.to/3Un3wUU

• pecans https://amzn.to/3DRqKvN

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ButterYum's Vanilla Nut Bars

Makes one 9x13 pan

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Filling:

• 1/2 pound (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (or honey)

• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 pound chopped nuts (I used almonds and pecans)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Make the crust by combining the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.

3. Use the paddle or BeaterBlade attachment (LOVE my BeaterBlade); mix for 3 minutes.

4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

5. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter/sugar mixture on low speed just until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.

6. Using well floured hands, press dough into ungreased 9x13 metal cake pan or lined 9x13 quarter sheet pan (see notes below).

7. Bake crust for 15 minutes. Cool. Make the filling.

8. Make the filling by combining the butter, golden syrup (or honey), and brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

9. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; continue to boil for 3 minutes.

10. Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and chopped nuts.

11. Pour mixture over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes.

12. Cool until set. Cut and serve!

Notes

• Lyle's Golden Syrup is an all natural sugar cane syrup imported from England. It has an addictive caramel-like flavor and I absolutely love it. It can be used interchangeably in any recipe that calls for honey or corn syrup.

• If baking in a quarter sheet pan, build up the edges a bit with nonstick foil to catch any possible spills.

• A double recipe will fit in one half sheet pan or two 9x13 cake pans.

adapted from Ina Garten's Pecan Squares

(affiliate links)

Lyle's Golden Syrup

Homemade Pomegranate Syrup

I love pomegranates. Each winter I purchase a case and slowly, over the course of a few weeks, I wait for everyone in the house to leave so I can enjoy a little alone time, just me and my pomegranate. I fully enjoy the process of cracking one open and carefully extracting all the ruby red juice filled arils, savoring each and every one of them as they give under the slightest pressure and release their intoxicating juice. It's a ritual truly look forward to.

The year before last I decided to tackle harvesting the arils from an entire case in one sitting. Several hours later, my fingernails were stained beyond belief, but I was left with a gigantic bowl full of thousands of wonderful arils that the entire family enjoyed for at least a week (they keep remarkably well in the fridge). When pomegranate season rolls around (in about 6 months), I'll show you how I extract the lovely arils. For now I have to resort to buying bottled juice. Drinking bottled juice isn't nearly as satisfying as eating hundreds of juicy arils, but the flavor and health benefits are equal. I buy large bottles at Costco. Smaller bottles are readily available at grocery stores.

Recently I was in the mood for something sweet and I had a bottle of pomegranate juice in the fridge, so I made a batch of pomegranate syrup and I really love the way it turned out - so sticky and sweet, yet slightly tangy. Amazing stuff. I served it on vanilla ice cream, but I have a jar of leftover syrup in the fridge. I'm thinking crepes, french toast, pancakes, waffles, summer drinks... so many delicious possibilities.

I hope you'll give this yummy stuff a try.

Homemade Pomegranate Syrup

makes 3/4 cup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup pomegranate juice (fresh or bottled)

• 1/2 cup honey (or light corn syrup, maple syrup, golden syrup)

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine ingredients.

2. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce by half.

3. Serve over ice cream, crepes, french toast, pancakes, waffles, summer drinks, etc. Refrigerate leftovers.